3 countries with unique approaches to saving nature and the planet
If you keep up with the news on climate change and the biodiversity crisis, it’s easy to feel disheartened, hopeless, or downright mad. Amidst the bad news, however, there are also signs of progress - people, companies, and entire countries coming together to preserve nature and reduce our impact on the environment. Today, we’re featuring three such countries that have implemented some unique approaches to saving the planet.
Palau
Image via Lonely Planet
Palau is an archipelago of over 500 islands in the western Pacific Ocean that is home to just under 20,000 people. A coupe of years ago, this small country made headlines when it created one of the largest marine reserves on the planet, officially protecting over 193,000 square miles (or 80%) of its maritime territory. As a fully protected space, it is strictly managed and many activities, including mining and fishing, are prohibited. In a country where many make a living off of fishing, this may sound like a bold move to make, but protection actually created more abundant catches for local fisheries! This is because the protected areas had twice the number of fish as unprotected areas and when biomass in protected areas increases, the results spill-over into unprotected areas too. More fish also attract divers, snorkelers, and water-lovers alike, boosting this highly tourism-dependent economy. What makes Palau’s conservation initiatives even more interesting is how they are maintained. With no military to enforce regulations, the country instead relies on local people as stewards to uphold protection in the marine reserve. Clearly, as Palau has proven, creating protected areas can have both a positive impact on people and the planet!
Iceland
Image via Green Global Travel
The “land of fire and ice” as it is referred to by many, is a Nordic island nation with a unique landscape composed of volcanoes, geysers, hot springs, and lava fields. It is this mixture of geology and northerly location that provides extensive access to renewables. In fact, almost 100% of electricity consumed in Iceland comes from renewable energy and nine out of ten homes are heated directly with geothermal energy. While you may think that this is a great story but one that is difficult to replicate in larger countries that don’t have as much access to renewables, there are still a number of lessons to learn from Iceland. The country has not always relied on renewables for their energy. In fact, prior to the 1970s, the majority of the country’s energy was derived from fossil fuels. It was the inability to withstand a fluctuating oil market that propelled Iceland to harness and use their renewables, but this was not a simple process. The method for extracting and safely utilizing renewables required collaboration across multiple public and private parties as well as individual people. What other countries can learn from Iceland mainly lies in this - transition from one way of doing things to another requires cohesion and collaboration between government and business as well as local empowerment and public engagement to be successful.
Costa Rica
Image via CNN
Costa Rica is a rainforested Central American country, with coastlines spanning both the Caribbean and Pacific Ocean. The country had some of the highest Latin American deforestation rates in the 1970s and 1980s due to land clearing to accommodate agriculture and livestock. Some estimates even suggest that between a third and half of forest cover was lost by 1987. However, upon realizing the important role trees plan in maintaining a stable climate, drastic measures were taken to convert the country back into its originally lush state. In addition to legal measures, Costa Rica now has approximately 60% of its land covered in forest thanks to an economic tool called Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES). PES are effectively payments that are made to local landowners to protect their land and preserve biodiversity on it through a number of activities like planting trees, removing invasive species, and more, which has obvious climate benefits as well as increasing habitat for other species to thrive. In this way, the government of Costa Rica has provided financial incentive to the local people to be stewards of the land, creating a system that allows them to thrive alongside the environment.
Learning about these made us feel inspired, and we hope it did the same for you! Have you heard of any unique approaches to combating the climate or biodiversity crisis? Let us know!
